Here we go for the 12th episode of the Club, in which we are going to discover wine faults. The goal, by the end of this episode, is to be able to easily recognise these faults at your next tastings. Before we dive into all this, if this is the first time you are listening to this podcast, there are 11 other episodes you can enjoy right after this one. If you like this podcast, remember to give it 5 stars on Apple Podcast, it is the most important thing for moving it up the rankings. Now that we are done with all that, and that you have given 5 stars and left a kind little message, let us move on to the episode on wine faults.
Wine faults: a question of perception
Before getting to the heart of the subject of wine faults, it is worth pointing out that they are a matter of perception. We all have a different perception of wine and a threshold beyond which we consider something a fault. This is particularly true of the acidity of wine. Everyone can have their own scale. So I am not going to make any final judgement in this episode, and it is up to each of you to do the test based on what you feel. Moreover, if you are unlucky enough to open a bottle of wine that has a fault, try giving it to your friends to taste. And you will see that not everyone reacts the same way. Finally, a fault in a wine does not necessarily mean you are dealing with a bad wine. Every bottle is different and you can sometimes get a corked wine. So do not be too definitive. That said, if you are listening to this podcast it is because you are wondering “what are the faults in wine?”. Let us now discover the three types of wine faults: visual faults, olfactory faults and taste faults.
The visual faults of wine
Wine can show visual faults. First of all, it can be sparkling. Nothing serious if you are tasting a Pet Nat or a champagne. But it is much more serious if you are drinking a still wine. If it is properly fizzy, a fermentation has often restarted in the bottle. You can always do the test, but there is little chance it will be very good. A few fine bubbles clinging to the glass, common in a young white, are just carbon dioxide left in the wine. The wine can also be cloudy. In a young still wine, haze that comes with bubbles or an odd smell often means a refermentation or a contamination, and that is not a good sign. Small white or purplish crystals at the bottom of the bottle or under the cork, on the other hand, are harmless tartrates, and the sediment in an old red is normal: neither is a fault.
Olfactory faults
Wine faults can also be olfactory. There are many smells you can recognise that are not necessarily a good sign for your tasting. The various olfactory faults you can recognise are:
- The smell of cork: the poor quality of the cork has contaminated the wine. You risk drinking a corked wine;
- A musty smell with aromas of onions or mould, generally due to an excess of sulphur;
- A smell of oxidation with aromas of walnuts and very ripe apples, due to too much contact between the wine and the air;
- A smell of vinegar, which is the result of very strong oxidation.
In all these cases, there is a good chance you are dealing with an expired wine. You have only one option left: open another bottle.
The taste faults of wine
Finally, all the faults you can detect during the olfactory examination of the wine will normally be felt when you taste it. So the taste of cork or vinegar reflects the faults you smelled earlier. On the palate, wine can show other faults such as too much bitterness or an overly pronounced taste of wood. The first of these faults is due to too much plant matter during winemaking, and the second to ageing in poorly maintained oak barrels. Lightstruck wine is also one of the common faults, in particular in wines bought from large retailers. By the way, if you do not know what winemaking or ageing in oak barrels means, I invite you to listen to the episode on how to make wine. It should answer all your questions.
How do you recognise wine faults?
Finally, you are wondering how to recognise wine faults? The answer is actually quite simple. You have to taste again and again. By tasting often, you will get into the habit of discovering new things, and above all of recognising them. You will then very quickly sense when a wine has a fault. And there you go, well done, you now know all about wine faults. Once again we have seen that wine is not a drink like any other. Analysing it is full of subtleties that you have just understood thanks to this podcast. Learning wine is crucial in order to finally enjoy it to the fullest. So I will see you in the next episode.
Once you can tell a faulty bottle from a sound one, the next step is choosing the right one for the meal. Our food and wine pairing method teaches you the mechanism behind each pairing, so you can work it out for any dish yourself.
Like you, I am passionate about wine. Through this podcast, I try to pass on this passion and the knowledge of wine. So it helps me a lot if you take a few minutes to give this podcast 5 stars on Apple Podcast. You can also leave a nice little comment. So I invite you to do it now that the episode is finished.
